If you are a poker fan, then you are probably familiar with the professional players who score immense prizes in competitions like WSOP. At the same time, you are probably wondering how these players are able to perform almost flawlessly every time and always end the game counting the money won. Well, one explanation for their machine-like efficiency is the ability to accurately evaluate the strategy of their opponents and adjust their own accordingly. However, experience plays a major role here and it takes a lot of time and dedication to reach their level.
How do pros guesstimate their opponents’ hand?
Poker is a card game that requires paying a lot of attention to the details. While you might think – thanks to several Hollywood production that promote this stereotype – that the players determine the strength of an opponent’s hand exclusively based on his physical reactions and uncontrollable nervous twitches, this theory is false. A far more important detail, especially if you are playing at a casino online, is the table partners’ gameplay and, in order to be able to use your own strategy against him, you need to learn the pattern. To put it simply, all players employ a certain pattern of betting, calling, folding, so on and so forth. This pattern allows you to dissociate between the moments when that player is bluffing and when he is actually holding a strong suit.
How do you learn a player’s strategy?
The best way to discover your opponent’s approach implies forcing him to react by raising and betting. If you resort to calling his bets or checking every time you are uncertain about his cards or the potential of your own hand, you learn absolutely nothing new. There is no hint to indicate what his current hand is or what his typical reaction to that hand implies. Therefore, you might as well fold your current hand because the only thing you could actually win is a small pot.
Additional advantages of raising and betting
A playing style constructed around frequent bets and raises will also force your opponent’s hand to either increase the value of the pot by calling/raising your bet or folding. Furthermore, since the folds his hands more often, you can earn the pot without any effort at all. As you can see, there is no downside to playing more aggressively against your opponent and you will even make the whole experience more immersing as well. Therefore, don’t hesitate to take a leap of faith and gain more control over the poker game!
Comment here